Brochure

Boston Freedom Trail ® Boston National Historical Park Massachusetts National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Detail from A Southeast View of the Great Town of Boston in New England in America, by J. Carwitham, London, 1764 COURTESY THE BOSTONIAN SOCIETY To travel back to Revolutionary Boston—to understand the people, the events, and the ideals of the 1700s—is a great leap for us today. But the sites along the Freedom Trail speak eloquently of that time. Boston­ ians and other colonists shared a notion of liberty as something precious and worth fighting for. The Freedom Trail sites include the scenes of criti­ cal events in Boston’s and the nation’s struggle for freedom. Some visitors choose to trek the entire 2½-mile route or select an individual site to visit at length, while others experience the Freedom Trail as a cohesive story built around the following four chapters, organized along geo­ graphic and thematic lines. Chapter 1—Revolution of Minds and Hearts For more than a century before the first musket was fired in America’s War for Independence, Puritan-bred Bostonians embraced a strong heritage of community and a culture of freedom that was remarkable among colonial settle­ ments. The sites here include places where townsfolk assembled to proclaim their rights, drill their militias, bury their dead, educate their young, gov­ ern their own church congregations, and protect their property from Brit­ ish meddling. “The Revolution was effected before the war commenced,” observed John Adams. “The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people.” Sites in this chapter include Boston Common, Massachusetts State House, Park Street Church and Granary Burying Ground, King’s Chapel and Burying Ground, and the site of the first public school. Chapter 2—The People Revolt In 1760 breaking away from Great Britain was unimaginable to most Bostonians. Between 1761 and 1775, howev­ er, differing views of the rights of the colonies under British rule led to actions, reactions, and tumultuous encounters between Britain and the Boston colonists that snowballed toward war. The sites here feature places where liberty-loving men and women began to take collective action, culminating in events like the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. They include Old South Meeting House, Old Corner Bookstore, Old State House, Boston Massacre Site, and Faneuil Hall. Chapter 3—Neighborhood of Revolution In the course of two pivotal days—April 18 and 19, 1775—years of growing unrest burst into in­ surrection. Among the families of the North End, downtown Boston’s oldest surviving residential neighborhood, were artisan Paul Re­vere, his second wife Rachel, and seven of his children. It was patriot Revere who planned the hanging of warning lanterns in the steeple of the Old North Church on April 18 before his famous ride. By morning, colonial militia had assembled in Lexington and Concord for what be­came the first mili­ tary encounters of the Revolution. The North End sites in this chapter in­ clude Paul Revere House, Old North Church, and Copp’s Hill Burying Ground. Chapter 4—Boston Goes to War Less than two months after Lexington and Concord, patriots and British troops engaged in one of the bloodiest encounters of the War for Independence—the Battle of Bunker Hill. Though the British won the battle, their losses were immense, inspiring patriots to continued resistance. By 1783, the United States had won its independence. To defend the young nation against pirates, the Brit­ish, or any other would-be challenger, the newly formed US Navy built the seemingly invincible frigate USS Constitution. The Charlestown sites in this chapter include Bunker Hill Monument and USS Constitution, berthed in the Charlestown Navy Yard. ALL PHOTOS BELOW NPS / JAMES HIGGINS, EXCEPT AS NOTED Sites Along the Freedom Trail Boston Common and State House Park Street Church Freedom Trail be­gins at Boston Common where cattle once grazed and British soldiers ­camped. Puritan settlers estab­ lished the Common in 1634, making it the na­ tion’s oldest pub­­lic park. Charles Bulfinch de­ signed the Mas­sachu­ setts State House, which over­­­looks the Common. Samuel Ad­ams and Paul The elegant spire of this church and its caril­ lon, which sounds twice daily from its steeple, have long been land­ marks for downtown shoppers. The hymn “America” was first sung here, and aboli­ tionist William Lloyd Garrison gave his first antislavery speech here Revere laid the corner­ stone in 1795. The me­ morial to Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Reg­ iment, op­po­site the State House, marks the start of the Black Heri­ tage Trail®, a feature of the Museum of Afri­ can American History and Boston African Amer­ican National His­ toric Site. Old State House Built in 1713, this historic landmark was the seat of colonial and state gov­ ernments as well as a merchants’ exchange. In 1761 patriot James Otis op­posed the Writs of As­ sistance here, in­spiring John Adams to state, “then and there the child independence was born.” A cobblestone circle in 1829. Park Street Church has stood on this corner since 1809 as an active Congrega­ tional church, orga­ nized in re­action to Unitarians who were gaining control in many of the old Puritan churches. Faneuil Hall under its balcony marks the site of the 1770 Bos­ ton Massacre when Brit­ ish soldiers fired into a crowd of Bos­tonians. Fu­gitive slave Crispus At­tucks was among the five victims who died that day. Today the Bos­ tonian Society maintains the building as a muse­ um of Boston history. This old market build­ ing, first built in 1742, sits at the site of the old town dock. Town meetings, held here between 1764 and 1774, heard Samuel Adams and others lead cries of protest against the imposition of taxes on the colonies. The building was enlarged Granary Burying Ground Patriots John Hancock, Paul Revere, James Otis, Samuel Adams, Robert Treat Paine; victims of the Boston Massacre; and whole families of settlers ravaged by fire and plague are interred in this cemetery next to the Park Street Church. King’s Chapel and Burying Ground King’s Chapel, designed by Peter Harrison in 1749 for the first Angli­ can congregation in Boston, possesses one of the most elegant Georgian church interi­ ors of the colonial era. The congregation was a stronghold of Loyalist opposition, and most of its members left for En­ gland and Nova Scotia Paul Revere House in 1806. Frederick Doug­lass, William Lloyd Garrison, and Lucy Stone brought their struggles for free­ dom here in the 1800s. Market stalls on the first floor service shop­ pers much as they did in Paul Revere’s day. Boston’s oldest residen­ tial neighborhood, the North End, includes the Paul Re­vere House, downtown Boston’s oldest residence, built about 1680. Paul Re­ vere and his family owned and occupied it most of the time from 1770 to 1800. The Paul Revere Memorial Asso­ in 1776. In 1787 those who remained orga­ nized the nation’s first Unitarian congregation. The burying ground next to the chapel con­ tains the re­mains of John Win­throp, the col­ ony’s first governor, as well as the grave­stone that inspired Na­thaniel Hawthorne to write The Scarlet Letter. Franklin Statue and First School Site This statue of Benjamin Franklin overlooks the first site of the Latin School, the oldest pub­ lic school in America, established by Puritan settlers in 1635. Frank­ lin, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock all at­ tended. Its first school­ house was built here in 1635. Old North Church ciation now operates it, along with the neigh­ boring Pierce-Hichborn House, as a house mu­ seum. The association restored the dwelling in 1908 after it had been used as a cigar factory and bank, and for other purposes. PAUL REVERE MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION Built in 1723, Christ Church is better known as Old North. Bos­ton’s oldest church building, it remains an active Episco­ pal Church. Henry Wad­ sworth Longfellow me­ morialized Old North’s role at the start of the Revolutionary War in his poem, “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.” On the night of April 18, 1775, sexton Robert New­­man hung two lan­ terns in the steeple to warn Charles­town patri­ ots of ad­vancing British soldiers. The Georgian style church houses the nation’s first maiden peal of bells and the first bust of George Washington. Old South Meeting House Old Corner Bookstore Built in 1729 as a Puri­ tan house of worship, the Old South Meeting House was the largest building in co­lonial Bos­ ton. In the days leading to the American Revolu­ tion, citizens gathered here to challenge British rule, protesting the Bos­ ton Massacre and the tea tax. Here, at an overflow meeting on December 16, 1773, patriot Samuel Adams launched the Boston Tea Party. Saved from de­struction in 1876, in the first successful his­ toric preservation ef­­fort in New England, the building is now an ac­ tive meet­ing place, a haven for free speech, and a museum ex­hibit, “Voices of Protest.” Typical of the kinds of dwellings and shops that lined the streets of colonial Bos­ton, this gambrel-roof building was saved from destruc­ tion in the 1960s and restored by Historic Bos­ ton in 1970. Built as an apothecary for druggist Thomas Crease in 1718, it became a literary cen­ ter in the mid-1800s. Copp’s Hill Burying Ground Bunker Hill Monument Charlestown Navy Yard/USS Constitution From this spot British soldiers bombarded Breed’s Hill with cannon fire on June 17, 1775. Robert Newman, black educator Prince Hall, and blacks and mu­­lattos who worked in North End shipyards are bur­ ied in these grounds dating to 1660. After the Revolution, citizens proved their Dedicated in 1843, this willingness to defend 221-foot obelisk com­ their newfound free­ memorates the Revolu­ dom and economic inde­ tion’s first major battle. pendence by developing Visitors may climb the monument’s 294 steps. A and supporting a navy. museum across the street From 1800 to 1974, Charles­town Navy Yard has exhibits about the built, re­paired, and out­ community, monument, fitted US naval vessels. and battle. Today the yard is home Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wads­worth Long­ fellow, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Haw­ thorne, and others brought their manu­ scripts here to be pub­ lished by Ticknor and Fields Co. to the USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, and the USS Con­ stitution Museum. The USS Cassin Young, refit­ ted and modernized in the yard’s drydock, rep­ resents the type of ship built here during World War II. Exploring Historic Boston In the 1870s, imbued with the spirit of the nation’s centennial, Bostonians began saving colonial and Revolutionary era buildings that were critical in the struggle against British rule. A century later, in 1974, Congress ensured the continuity of this effort—and the preservation of important parts of America’s heritage—by creating Boston National Historical Park. Today the park is an association of sites ranging from steepled churches, grand meeting halls, and battlegrounds to America’s oldest commissioned warship. The park is distinctive, mixing historic buildings and landscapes owned by the city, the state, the federal government, and private organi­ zations. Only three sites are owned by the federal govern­ment—the Charlestown Navy Yard, Bunker Hill Monument, and Dor­ches­ter Heights Monument. Getting Around Boston is best seen on foot. Down­­town traffic is usually heavy, and the street system is difficult for newcomers to ne­go­ tiate. Park your car in a commercial parking ga­ rage downtown or at the Charles­­­town Navy Yard. Walk wherever possible or for long­er distances, de­pend on the Rapid Tran­­sit System. Rapid Transit System The “T” consists of the Red, Green, Blue, Orange, and Silver lines (see map below). Most stops within Boston prop­er are named for streets and squares and are marked with a sign bearing the transit logo . Take MBTA routes 92 and 93 between Bos­­ton and Charles­town. To reach Charles­town from down­ town, catch one of these buses at Haymarket sta­ tion north of Fan­euil Hall and get off at City Square Park (the first stop after crossing Charlestown Bridge). It is a short walk to ei­ther the navy yard or Bunker Hill. Catch the return bus at City Square Park in front of John Har­­vard Mall. Ex­act change re­ quired. A water shuttle runs often between Pier 3 at Charles­­town Navy Yard and Long Wharf in down­town Bos­ton near the Aquarium rapid transit station. Other Points of Interest Boston African Am­­er­ican National His­toric Site This site explores the history of Beacon Hill’s black com­­­munity in the 1800s. Black Her­itage Trail® The trail be­gins at the Shaw Me­mor­ial op­po­site the State House. Black and brown signs identify sites, including the Afri­ can Meet­ing House and the Abiel Smith School. Brochures are available at the park visitor center. Dorchester Heights A marble tower in Thomas Park in South Boston commemor­ates the American ac­tions that brought about the British evac­uation of Boston on March 17, 1776. This bloodless triumph was the first victory for the Continental Army un­der George Washington. The monument was built in colonial revival style in 1902. Designed to re­ sem­ble a colonial meet­ ing house spire, the tow­ er off­ers a com­mand­ing view of Boston and its harbor. The grounds are open during daylight hours; the tower is open on a limited sched­ule in sum­mer. Dorchester Heights is two miles from down­ town Bos­ton. To reach the site by public trans­ portation, take the sub­ way (Red Line) to Broad­ way Station. Here board MBTA Bus 9 (City Point) and get off at G Street. Walk uphill to the Heights. By car, cross into South Boston on the Congress Street Bridge. Turn right onto A Street, then left onto West Broad­way. Follow Broadway to G Street and turn right. The mon­ument is on the left. Accessibility We strive to make our facilities, services, and programs accessible to all. For in­ formation go to a visitor center, ask a ranger, call, or check our website. For firearms regulations check the park website. Except for the Dorchester Heights Monument in South Boston, all of Boston National Historical Park’s historic sites are part of Boston’s Freedom Trail. The Freedom Trail is a 2½-mile walking trail of 16 colonial, Revolutionary, and federal sites in downtown Boston and Charlestown that tells the story in four principal chapters (see other side of this brochure) of the people, places, and events that sparked the American Revolution against England and highlights Boston’s role in laying the foundation for a new nation. The Freedom Trail originated in 1951 when Old North Church sexton Bob Winn proposed to reporter Bill Schofield the creation of a trail to help visi­ tors find Boston’s historic sites and to boost tourism. Schofield promoted the idea in his newspaper columns. In June 1951, with the support of Mayor John B. Hynes and the Chamber of Commerce, the city placed signs painted with a colonial rider directing visitors to 12 historic sites from the State House to Copp’s Hill Burying Ground. year, discovering the Revolutionary past embedded in a major modern urban environment. Over the years the Freedom Trail has expanded and evolved. Today it is recognized as both a National Recreation Trail and a National Millenni­ um Trail. It extends from Boston Common to the Charlestown Navy Yard and Bunker Hill and is marked by a line of contrasting bricks, red paint, and distinctive signage. A wide variety of private and public organiza­ tions oversee the welfare of the trail, including the city of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the National Park Service, and the Freedom Trail Foundation. Together these organizations have made the trail into an exciting, historical adventure—a vital part of Boston’s and the nation’s heritage. More than 1.5 million people walk the trail every More Information Start your journey by getting information at Boston National Historical Park Visitor Center at Faneuil Hall or at the Charlestown Navy Yard. Or contact: Boston National Historical Park, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, MA 02129; www.nps.gov/bost; 617-2425642. Boston National Historical Park is one of over 400 parks in the National Park System. To learn more about parks and National Park Service pro­ grams in America’s communities visit www.nps.gov. IGPO: 2013—378-769/30054 Reprint 2013 Printed on recycled paper.